(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to antennas formed of conductive loaded resin-based materials comprising micron conductive powders or micron conductive fibers.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Antennas are an essential part of electronic communication systems that contain wireless links. Low cost antennas offer significant advantages for these systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,027 to Marks et al. describes a composite antenna having a grid comprised of electrical conductors woven into the warp of a resin reinforced cloth forming one layer of a multi-layer laminate structure of an antenna.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,261 B1 to Solberg, Jr. et al. describes a direction-finding material constructed from polymer composite materials which are electrically conductive.
Antennas are essential in any electronic systems containing wireless links. Such applications as communications and navigation require reliable sensitive antennas. Antennas are typically fabricated from metal antenna elements in a wide variety of configurations. Lowering the cost of antenna materials or production costs in fabrication of antennas offers significant advantages for any applications utilizing antennas.
It is a principle objective of this invention to provide antennas fabricated from conductive loaded resin-based materials.
It is another principle objective of this invention to provide antennas having two antenna elements fabricated from conductive loaded resin-based materials.
It is another principle objective of this invention to provide antennas having an antenna element and a ground plane fabricated from conductive loaded resin-based materials.
It is another principle objective of this invention to provide a method of forming antennas from conductive loaded resin-based materials.
These objectives are achieved by fabricating the antenna elements and ground planes from conductive loaded resin-based materials. These materials are resins loaded with conductive materials to provide a resin-based material which is a conductor rather than an insulator. The resins provide the structural material which, when loaded with micron conductive powders or micron conductive fibers, become composites which are conductors rather than insulators.
Antenna elements are fabricated from the conductive loaded resins. Almost any type of antenna can be fabricated from the conductive loaded resin-based materials, such as dipole antennas, monopole antennas, planar antennas or the like. These antennas can be tuned to a desired frequency range.
The antennas can be molded or extruded to provide the desired shape. The conductive loaded resin-based materials can be cut, injection molded, overmolded, laminated, extruded, milled or the like to provide the desired antenna shape and size. The antenna characteristics depend on the composition of the conductive loaded resin-based materials, which can be adjusted to aid in achieving the desired antenna characteristics. Virtually any antenna fabricated by conventional means such as wire, strip-line, printed circuit boards, or the like can be fabricated using the conductive loaded resin-based materials.